Sept 29, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes running back Duke Johnson (8) runs up the middle during the first half at against the North Carolina State Wolfpack Sun Life Stadium. Miami won 44-37. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE
Following the conclusion of the 2012 Miami Hurricanes football season, there is still plenty to talking about. For those of you who have yet to pay close attention to recruiting, buckle up – you’re in for quite the ride. These young men will change their mind more than Bruce Jenner changes his face.
Let’s have a look at what seems to be trending the most these days.
– Congratulations to Mr. Duke Johnson. Aside from being named second-team All-ACC by the ACSMA, today he was awarded yet again – the 2012 Offensive and Overall Rookie of the Year. Johnson beat out stud Maryland WR Stefon Diggs to claim this year’s title. Florida State DB Ronald Darby was named the 2012 Defensive Rookie of the Year and Duke head coach David Cutcliffe was named 2012 ACC Coach of the Year.
– ESPN has confirmed that former Florida State defensive coordinator Mark Stoops will become the Kentucky Wildcats’ new head football coach. Stoops, who replaces Joker Phillips, “becomes the third brother in college football ‘s famed coaching family to lead his own program.” During his reign at Kentucky, Phillips went a lackluster 13-24 in three seasons and the Wildcats’ failed to win a single game in SEC play this year.
– Since announcing that they would be joining the Big Ten just in time for the 2014 football season, Maryland didn’t think they would get away scott free, did they? The ACC has filed a lawsuit in an effort to collect a $50 million exit fee from the ACC. “The ACC has filed a lawsuit in Guilford County, N.C., against founding member Maryland in an effort to ensure the school will pay the full buyout before it joins the Big Ten Conference in two years.” It should be assumed that Rutgers, who will follow Maryland to the Big Ten, can expect to pay the same exit fee prior to leaving the Big East.
November 4, 2012; Landover, MD, USA; Pedro Taylor, the father of the late Washington Redskins former player Sean Taylor (not pictured), stands on the field during Homecoming festivities prior to the Redskins game against the Carolina Panthers at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE
– In a more somber note, it has now been five years since former Miami Hurricane Sean Taylor was senselessly gunned down in his own home during a botched robbery. Taylor has become yet another statistic – someone with an abundant amount of talent who left this world all too soon. One can not help but wonder how good Taylor would have been had he not been taken so prematurely? He was not afraid to put his body on the line and he will be remembered as one of the hardest hitting safeties to ever play the game. Former teammate Clinton Portis told the Washington Post, “You don’t want to see the good in a person like Sean. You don’t want to understand the success or the pain he’s went through to be where he is.” I actually wonder the opposite. I want to know what kind of person Sean Taylor was, more so off of the football field. I am interested in what he had to endure to get where he wanted to go – the hurdles he had to face. Like any new parent, it has been said that when Taylor experienced the birth of his daughter, it influenced him to change – personally and spiritually. One day his baby girl will want to know who her father was and was he was like. RIP “Meast.” You will never be forgotten.